We had a relatively uneventful trip down to NC this time, but it was LONG. We ended up being in the car (and out, since we stopped FOUR times) about 10 hours, total. The kids were really good, but Adelaide ended up sleeping for only 10 minutes out of those 10 hours. She talked incessantly for the other 9 hours and 50 minutes. She asked over and over, "Are we goin' to Norf Carelina? ARE WE?" However, she must not understand yet what North Carolina actually is, because once we crossed the state line and I told her we WERE in NC, she said, "No, we are not. We are in DE CAR."
My mom drove 1/3 of the way and I drove 2/3. It sounds strange, but I was happy to smell the chicken poop when we crossed into good old Wilkes County! That's how I knew I was finally home after a whole year of being north of the Mason-Dixon! I went for BoJangle's for breakfast Saturday morning, and they were doing a fundraiser for MDA (Jerry's Kids) where they put those little signs up with the names of the people who donated. Wouldn't you know that one of the names was BUBBA?! It made me feel like I was really home.
Thomas, Elizabeth, and Josh came over to see us and Sadie ran out to meet them, yelling, "Hey, Uncle Thomas!" then Josie ran out saying, "Uncle Thomas! I missed you!" then Adelaide saw him and said, "AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" and ran away, craying. Oh well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad, they always say.
I was afraid that she'd be scared of EVERYONE, since she hasn't been to NC since she was about 18 months old and doesn't really remember anyone, but when we got to Daddy's and Sylvia's, she wasn't scared a bit. Daddy leaned over to unbuckle her from her carseat and I braced myself for screaming and crying. Instead, she grinned up and him and said, "Hewwo, Papaw!" Sadie and Josie also threw themselves at him and Mamaw for hugs. I love seeing my children with their Papaw :) I asked Adelaide later why she wasn't scared, and she said, "Cuz. That's my stinker Papaw."
Caleb and Cameron (who have grown like crazy over the past year - Cameron is now a mini version of Scotty) came down with Sharon to visit and meet Jedidiah, and it didn't take long for all the cousins to break into full playing mode. The best thing I heard all evening was (from Josie and Caleb) "Okay. Now we are going to play tag in the dark! Isn't that a good idea!?"
Then Sadie and her Great Grandma Genevieve stayed up late last night (prior to a terrible night of crying/screaming earache pain from Sadie) 'sorting' all of Grandm'as lipstick and Sadie got to pick out FIVE tubes of lipstick to take home with her... because we all know that a six year old NEEDS a LOT of lipstick.
Sadie ended up with an earache on Sunday, so Josie went to have special Papaw/Mamaw time all by herself. She wanted to eat lunch at a Chinese buffet and then she went shopping with them. Papaw bought Josie a mermaid to play with in the tub, and she bought him some gum. Mamaw also gave her a really cool sparkly gold purse to carry her treasures in. She came home with a gift for everyone (I got a pretty greenish angel bell to replace the one I had to throw away in the flood), but the best was a big yellow smiley-face balloon for her baby brother - he watched it like a hawk! Mamaw said it was hard for the store clerk to reach so she tried to talk Josie into choosing another one, but nothin' doin' - she wanted THAT one for Jed.
One of my favorite parts of going to NC is sharing my scrapbook with my aunt Sharon. She seems to be the only one in the world who really appreciates it! :) While she and I perused my hard work and Adelaide and the baby napped, the girls were impressed to see Papaw working on a new axe! Then they went out for pizza at Village Inn (our favorite), and Mamaw told Sadie some new stories while Papaw built a wooden model of a forklift with Josie.
Later, Adelaide decided that her new name for my Daddy is "Old Papawhead." Josie decided that Mamaw is a great and wonderful cook because she LOVES her Thousand Island salad dressing (she ate three bowls of salad for supper)!
We all went over to Annie's (my daddy's sister's) to play with Lauren, and though Adelaide hid behind the TV from EVERYONE ("Because I'm vewy shy," she said) Josie had a great time playing indoor tag with her cousin while Sadie sorted out Lauren's entire play kitchen... for FUN.
The old stand-by, livermush, made its appearance, along with the ever-popular Bo-Berry biscuits from BoJangles! I laughed when I saw a name-tag in the drive-thru window with the name "Bubba" on it. Adelaide got to make biscuits with Great Grandma, and Sadie learned to make cornbread! Now, if I could just learn to make chicken and dumplings the way she does!
We got to go to Melanie's to have play time and lunch with her and Ada. For lunch, she made mac & cheese, hummus, and frozen grapes. My girls thought it was the best lunch ever. It was warm enough to play outside, so after watching Sadie do some kind of crazy (SCARY) flip off of the swingset, we headed into the BEST part of the visit: fresh disgusting entrails under the porch. All of the girls were completely fascinated by this!
When Cameron and Caleb came over to play (they spent the evening at Angela's on another night) they all got a little bit too rambunctious and Grandma made them all sit on the couch! It reminded me of the old days when she used to make me and Angela hug each other and tell each other "I LOVE YOU!" when we were mad. It was torture!
On Wednesday, I went to lunch with Chasity, my little buddy. The kids stayed at Great Grandma's and had a well-deserved PJ day until we went over to see Papaw and Mamaw at 4:00. Sadie got to ride up in the lift in the garage while he changed the oil in my car, and then she had a checker match with Papaw, followed by a marathon story-time by Mamaw. Josie and Papaw and Adelaide played catch. They think it's hilarious when he bonks them on the head with the ball. Then Josie walked on his back since his back was hurting. He played Rocky top on the guitar for them and we all sang - I think I'm the only mom in the world (at least up north!) with three little girls who sing Rocky Top all the time!
Mamaw kept the girls for me while I ran errands and went to lunch with Sherry on Thursday. They told stories, painted fingernails, watched Tom and Jerry, and had a big old time. I laughed when I got there because they had all stripped off their clothes because the woodstove had it STIFLING in there. Adelaide had made it down to her pull-up and nothing else. Jedidiah was fussy and crying until Papaw picked him up out of his seat and then he proceeded to coo and be absolutely adorable for the rest of the afternoon. Papaw called him "Yunior" most of the time (which is his funny way of saying Junior). They loved going for walks in the woods with him, but Josie was on the lookout (and terrified by) ticks!
The scariest (and funniest) part of our visit was when Josie hopped in the tub while I put Jedidiah's PJs on. We were all in the living room, which is literally FEET from the bathroom so I didn't think it was dangerous to leave her in there... I could call and say, "Josie?" and she'd say "I'm okay!" Well... Josie likes to 'relax' when she's in the tub by herself. She leans all the way back in the water, floating on her back with her ears under and her arms stretched out, floating at her sides. When my mom called, "Josie?" No answer. "Josie?" I said, a little louder. No answer. My mom got up and ran into the bathroom, saw Josie laying there with her arms spread out, eyes rolled up, still as a mouse, and SCREAMED, "OHHH! HELP ME LORRRRRD!!! Devone!!!!" I raced in there, just in time to see Mama yanking Josie by one arm up out of the water. You should've seen Josie's face, shocked and dripping, yanked rudely out of her bath, saying, "Whatthe...?" Mama was so relieved she couldn't stand up for two hours. Her knees buckled! Josie apologized, even though she wasn't really doing anything wrong. She couldn't hear us calling for us because her little ears were under the water! :) She, Sadie, and Adelaide all three went around for DAYS yelling "HELP ME LORRRD!" and cracking up at themselves.
We had a really good trip, though we were definitely ready to come back home after 13days and a lot of car trouble (Daddy finally fixed a fuel injector and got it running right again). I'm very happy that all 4 of my children have been able to meet their Great Grandma Genevieve. Not many people are blessed to know and be known by their great grandparents... it's truly a blessing.
